Review: Finding Ultra by Rich Roll

This was a short-ish book that details Rich’s life, focusing mostly on his incredible EPIC5 race – 5 Ironman distance tri’s on five different Hawaiian islands on 5 consecutive days!

Rich was an elite level swimmer in high school and college, then got bored with the commitment in college. He actually found beer, booze and partying to be much more exciting. He became a full-bloomed alcoholic even as he passed the Bar, and started working as a lawyer. He finally faced his addiction enough to finish AA and made it through a rehab clinic.

After that ordeal, then he had a life changing event! Just before he was turning 40, he found he couldn’t walk up the 8 steps to his kids room to kiss the goodnight. He made up his mind to change – and that is where the book gets interesting.

He started with a 7 days progressive cleanse, eating herbs, teas, fruit and vegetable juices. After the de-tox period, his body adapted and by day 3 he “was sold. Day four was better and by day five, I felt like an entirely new person.” When the 7 days were up, he kept on going.

Through trial and error, he found an eating system that he calls “PlantPowered” – it is basically Vegan, but because of the stigma connected to that word, he doesn’t like to use it. He has used that diet to become one of the worlds best Ultra men – competing in a 320 mile ordeal of a Triathlon and then dreaming up the EPIC5 race…

Rich spends considerable time on debunking what he calls the myth of vegans don’t get enough protein. He shows exactly how much protein he gets, and then spends time addressing the current thought that we all need MORE protein. For me, I believe what he says, especially since he is a living example. The feats he is able to accomplish on his diet have me willing to believe that I don’t need as much protein as I have thought. Rich isn’t a hulking mass of muscle, he is trim and lean with muscles that literally go all day.